Blink
by The Malignant Writer
Summary: Vlad is gone, Dan is locked up, Danny has the girl of his dreams, and the world is protected by Danny Phantom. All should be perfect, no? Incorrect. There are no happy endings. All it takes is one blink to realize that everything is about to crumble and that the fate of everything is on the shoulder's of one boy.
1. Prologue

**This is my first Danny Phantom fic! Wohooo! If you could maybe tell me how I did? I want to make sure I've kept the characters in character, especially the more difficult ones .. Oh also, this is currently more rated M because of later stuff. But anyway, there will be VERY LITTLE romance. Like maybe an innocent peck or two when I have the DannyxSam stuff going on( which won't last too long lawl and no it's not because I'm not a fan of it which I'm not XD)**

**Overall Rating: M( it has Dan in it, what do you expect?)**

**Chapter rating: K**

**Chapter Warnings: ~none~**

**Overall Warnings: Language, Gore, Violence, Possibly Torture, Minor Romance Stuff( like kiss and stuff but whatever), Character Death, DAN( yes he is a warning in himself...I bet he feels proud).**

**Disclaimer: If you think I own this...well maybe a cat would help? Worked somewhat for Vlad...then again he's in space isn't he...**

* * *

Blinking. It is an involuntary action. Every person does it. _One, Two, Three, Four._ It's quite impossible to count exactly how many times a person does it. Estimate? Oh perhaps. But after a certain amount of time you loose count. You do it so often that and so many times that it is just _impossible _to count every single blink. But nonetheless, it is involuntary. What does this mean? It means, whether you like it or not, you must blink. You can try and stop yourself from doing so, but eventually your body will force you to do so. It is needed. Why? Well, I don't know. Go ask Clockwork. I'm sure he knows. _He knows everything. _Or so he says.

But that's not the purpose of this all. This story is about a boy, particularly a boy who tried to stop blinking. But why would you care about a boy who tried to stop blinking? After all, there are many boys- and even girls!- who try to do that. They even have games about it, the silly little things. Well, this particular boy didn't think he could stop for a moment or so, he thought _he could stop forever. _Oh, have you realized it? No? Well, you'll discover soon enough.

This boy wasn't daft, but rather..._naive, _or even _ignorant._ Because he didn't quite realize that he couldn't turn away from what he was doing. No one can stop blinking. It's there for a reason, as all things are. You can stop for a few moments, and so he did, but if you stop for too long, things get bad. Your vision gets blurry, your eyes water. But eventually, _you have to and will eventually **blink.**_

And so now, dear reader, to join me on this lovely journey about the boy who was foolish enough to think he couldn't blink.


	2. Chapter 1

**My first Danny Phantom fic! Wohooo! Please tell me how I did :) I want to make sure I've kept all of the characters in character ( especially the more difficult ones ) **

**Overall Rating: M( it has Dan in it, what do you expect?)**

**Chapter rating: K**

**Chapter Warnings: ~none~**

**Overall Warnings: Language, Gore, Violence, Possibly Torture, Minor Romance Stuff( like kiss and stuff but whatever), Character Death, DAN( yes he is a warning in himself...I bet he feels proud).**

**That's all I have right now, but the warnings will probably grow There won't be much Romance, except maybe some small DannyxSam stuff(which won't last I'll tell you right now). This is only rated M because of violence that( and it's not going to be minor).**

**Disclaimer: If you think I own this...well maybe a cat would help? Worked somewhat for Vlad...then again he's in space isn't he...**

* * *

Amity Park had never been much of a special place. Of course, that was to not to say it was a horrid or unpleasant place. It would have to be considering the fact that the place's motto was 'A nice place to live', something that was smack dab on the billboard when one entered the city and one could trust billboards, now couldn't they? However, it wasn't normal, per se. After all, the place seemed to have it's far share of ghost attacks, something that only seemed to have started after a certain time point in time, likely after the Fenton's built that portals of theirs. Not that they knew that. Their presence had merely increased with the ghost boy's- Invis-o-Bill or otherwise- presence.

But still, It wasn't _special. _At least, not until recently. The city had become known as the place where _Danny Phantom lived _ever since the incident with Vlad and the asteroid. Silly perhaps, but it was more than being known as merely Amity Park. It put them on the map. Brought in people from all over. After all, who wouldn't want _to catch a mere glimpse of the halfa Danny Phantom?_

Despite all of this happened, the very person that attracted all of the attention seemed to be blissfully unaware of everything going on around him. How he could be seemed almost shocking considering how so many people wished to bother him, _wanted just a small glance, _wanted to bug him. However, Danny's mind was elsewhere. He had caught a bug, a bug that many before had caught and that was difficult to get rid of but not impossible. He was _in love._ Or so he would like to think.

Looking up at the sky, a grin that almost perfectly displayed exactly how far gone he was in his teenage romance, "Wanna go to the Nasty Burger?" he asked lazily, ignoring how some of his hair got in his face. It was getting a bit long now, but he dreaded his parent's idea of a 'hair cut'. It was best he did it himself or managed to save up some money and found time to get it done himself.

Sam's nose wrinkled, disgust flashing through her eyes for a brief moment, however her hand stayed clasped through Danny's. "Ugh, and eat a dead cow?" she said, sniffing in disgust. "No thanks." Danny merely looked amused, his lips pursed together as though he were trying to keep back laughter. She him a slight glare, but it was half-hearted and there was a certain fondness in her eyes. "Why don't we go somewhere else?" she suggested after a moment.

"Somewhere else?" he said, his blow furrowing. "Where? There's not really much elsewhere to go…" he said, frowning slightly. Amity wasn't too big of a town and wasn't exactly known for it's great selection.

"Well…" she said slowly, almost hesitantly, "We could go to on of those new places, you know the on-"

However, Danny didn't give her time to finish, seeming to know exactly where this was going. "No! Absolutely not." He snapped, a scowl on his face. However, upon seeing the look on Sam's face, he relaxed slightly and his voice softened. "Sorry. I mean- I just don't want to go to one of those places. The people are always staring and well, the way they treat me. You'd think I'd saved the world or something!" he said, clearly frustrated.

"You did _save the world or something_, Danny." She said, looking rather amused, gaining a scowl from Danny.

"You know what I mean." He grumbled. "They just…they treat me like I'm a king or something. I'm still me, not someone else. I mean- Dash isn't even bullying me even more!" he said, clearly exasperated.

Sam's gaze softened slightly, seeming to realize exactly how much this bothered Danny. She placed a soft kiss on Danny's cheek and squeezed his hand, before sitting up slightly, dragging him up with her. "I know, but there's nothing we can really do." She said, an almost sad element to the expression. "How about we go to my house? I'm pretty sure my parents won't be praising you." She said, looking rather amused. "If anything, they probably dislike you more."

That seemed to lift Danny's spirits up a bit as a slight smile came to his face. "Sounds good." He said, before following after Sam as she got up.

* * *

Lonely. Vlad had been lonely before. It was a bit hard not be when he lived alone in a big, empty (spar his servants) mansion and was a unhappily, unmarried bachelor. There was also the fact that he had spent a good chunk of his time plotting how to spend his time to get a woman who clearly didn't love him and was already married – along with her son- and off her husband. And his only company? A cat.

But now he only had himself, himself and space. Of course, space didn't talk and there were only so many times one could travel to the Moon or take a walk on Mars. It all grew tiresome and it left him to his thoughts, something which was not only dangerous but also always managed to make him remember _exactly _how lonely he was.

He was walking, on Mars of course. He always took his walks on Mars. There was something about the planet that put his dark and chaotic mind to rest, if only for a brief moment. Perhaps it was the very fact that the planet was named after the god of war? It did so remind himself of his own life. Always at war…

Vlad quietly sat down on a rather large rock on the planet for a brief moment. He glanced down at his hands for a moment. A grimaced came to the vampiric halfa's face. His gloves were torn in a few places, giving a slight glimpse to the blue skin.

"It's brighter…" he muttered, his tone not only sounding displeased, but almost frightened. Vlad had been up here for what he figured to be several years and had managed to adapt. He no longer needed a space helmet. Of course, he had to stay in his ghost form at all times, as he would have the same human reaction if he turned human. In his ghost form he hardly needed to eat, but that didn't mean he didn't try to seek out some type of form of food. However, Vlad had been noticing changes by staying in his ghost form so long. Usually, if he stayed in his form for so long, he'd eventually change back, becoming exhausted and having wasted away power. And indeed, he was bringing himself to the edge of his limits in trying to stay in the form. He'd managed to become more powerful this way and it seemed, at certain times, that his ghost half realized that he should stay in this form, lest death befall. But there seemed to be a cost to this all. While he was becoming stronger, he had noticed changes. His skin was becoming more ghost like, more and more so. His eyes had become just a tad more bright. His personality, something which had always been obsessive, seemed to been the worst. At times, he could easily be thinking on track, only for it to change, switching and it seemed almost as if he were another person entirely. He found himself slowly becoming almost one-track minded. It was discerning and he couldn't help but wonder, was he slowly becoming a full-ghost? And if so, why?

He groaned, placing his head in his hands, scowling slightly. His head felt heavy and he couldn't think straight. "I need to get out of here." He muttered, glancing up. In the distance was Earth, his precious planet of origin, a planet that no doubt hated him. A planet he had almost destroyed. He grimaced, trying and failing to push away thoughts of guilt.

Sighing, he stood, off to go visit Venus, unknowing of what he was just about to run into.

* * *

"The boy is being careless." Snapped a deep voice, irritation thick in it's tone. "He is running across the same path!"

The source of this voice seemed to come from a ghost who's face was merely that of a giant eyeball, no mouth able to be seen anywhere. This ghost wore a cloak, along with robes, both which made him- if it was even male- appear almost royal. Flanked by him was another who appeared completely identical. Both of them stared unblinkingly at another ghost who stood across from them.

The ghost across from them did not appear as odd as the others, rather his _presence_ was odd. Cloak drawn over his head to the point that most of his was shielded from view, this ghost held a staff that bore a small ticking clock at the top. Where the man's heart should be was a clock, quietly ticking away to a steady beat. He appeared to be of old age, however this quickly changed as he changed into a young, almost mischievous child. Red eyes- a scar over the left- quietly examined what appeared to be to be a mirror, completely ignoring the other ghosts in the room. However, there was a presence to this ghost that not only rung of power, but also of knowledge. It was subtle, but quite clear. One could even see it in his pure, red eyes.

"Are listening?" snapped the second- an Observant as they were called. "He is straying! He is becoming Phan-" he fumed, only to suddenly be cut off.

"There is nothing to worry about." Clockwork said, red eyes boring into the one-eyed ghosts lazily. "Time is in perfect balance. You are worrying for absolutely nothing." He said, before giving a soft scoff. "As I have always said, this is your problem. You observe, but you do not _see." _Clockwork slowly floated away the mirror-like device he had been dazing into moments ago, the device flickering into darkness as he left it. "There is no chance that Danny Fenton, or even Danny _Phantom, _will become the being that was and is Dan Phantom." He intoned, his gaze no longer on the Observants, but instead on a small object- a soup can- that innocently sat on a counter. "He has not taken any of the steps that are required to move into that direction. He is, as one would say, _safe._"

There was a brief pause, before finally both of them spoke up. "And how can you be so sure, Clockwork?"

A smirk slivered onto Clockwork's face, hidden away from the Observants, and the elderly ghost was quite sure that he wasn't the only one smirking. He shifted into an adult, a form the more properly matched his voice. "I know everything." He simply said. A trace of arrogance could not be found in his voice. It sounded as if he was merely stating a fact and perhaps he was, but alas, one could never tell with Clockwork,_ Master of all Time._

Clockwork could practically feel their displeasure and for a brief moment he was glad they didn't have mouths to scowl at him with. "He is your responsibility." Was all they said, before they left, much to the elderly ghost's pleasure.

His gaze stayed fixated on the soup can, or more properly the 'Fenton Thermos'. An amused expression, if it could be called that, came to his face as he looked at it, only increasing as it began to shake. He heard the quiet growl, which only increased when he didn't respond to it.

'_Let me out…OUT!' _Clockwork's lips merely curved into what might be the closest thing of a malicious smirk. But of course, the Master of Time wasn't…_malicious, _not exactly. He lightly patted the can, before turning, ignoring the rattling of the can. "You'll get your time, Dan." He mused, eyes shifting to mirror, his expression morphing into an indescribable look. "At least, you will if this all continues as it does." He muttered.


	3. Chapter 2

_**ARGGG This is waaaay too shrot. Sorry about that . The next chapter will definitely be longer ^^ Got a lot planned fufufu**_

_**Anyway, sorry about the large break. My only excuse is college really. However, i should be nice and active what with summer approaching. I'll probably have a bit of difficulty posting in the nxt week or two as finals are coming up in about two weeks . wish me luck with those lol Ik definitely need to do really good on all of them .**_

_**The rating for this chapter is PG. Not much language, violence, or junk. All that comes in the next chapter ;)**_

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_Crash_.

Vlad blinked as he ran into…nothing. Well, that was not exactly right. He clearly ran into something, but there was nothing to be seen in front of him. A puzzled look came across the ex-billionaire's face. Reaching out, he splayed his hand out, finding that it did indeed touch something.

"Ghost technology?" He guessed, speaking to himself. After all, he highly doubted that there was any type of human technology that could make anything invisible. At least, not anything but cheap tricks. His nose wrinkled at the thought. He was a scientist and small tricks highly irritated him. They were highly real and he could not bring himself to find entertainment in them.

Vlad tilted his head, his brow furrowing. It seemed odd that there would be any type of ghost technology out here. He had never heard of ghost technology out in space and the very idea of it seemed odd in itself.

"But how to reveal it?" He muttered, his eyes narrowing. He placed his hand out again, but this time he felt something grab it. His eyes widened dramatically. He barely had time to scream as he was sucked into the invisible area.

"Ahhhhhh!"

* * *

Sam and Danny had made it to her house. Sam's parents were not, thankfully, at home, leaving the two alone. In truth, Danny was quite grateful as he would rather not have to deal with Sam's parents. They hardly liked him, and as much as Danny liked the thought that there were some people that did not revere him simply because they had learned that he was actually Danny Phantom. However, he was hardly glad that Sam's parents still disliked him. They tended to take everything to extremes, and that did not exclude their dislike for him. He was not exactly sure what it was ab out him that made them wary and angry, but he was sure that it had something to do with a mixture of distrust and the fact that he was dating their daughter who they, in their own special way, cared for.

The two had come into the bowling room. Sam was quietly picking out a bowling ball while Danny was seated, bowling ball in hand. He absentmindedly tapped his ball, waiting for Sam. Soon enough Sam was ready.

They began to play a game, and another, and another. They laughed as they talked, wide grins coming to their faces. Everything was as it should be.

* * *

Clockwork was currently in front of his portals, silently watching the same scene, again and again. Eventually, he placed it to the present, specifically to where Danny was. A frown curved onto his face, is eyes narrowed. The expression seemed a bit out of place as he shifted into his young form.

"Why can't I see your future, Danny Phantom…" He muttered to himself. It always troubled him when he could not see the future of something. It usually meant something terrible was going to happen. And this made him wary not because it interrupted his supposed omniscient mind but because it was so very rare. He had had a bit of trouble seeing Daniel's future when Dan had invaded the time line. The reason for that was something he was aware of. Dan's presence had made it difficult to see the future as it skewed what could potentially happen, making more strands then there should have been.

However, now he had no idea what the reason for this was. Dan was out of the timeline, stationed where he was, placed in his, Clockwork's, place, a place that stood out of time. As such, Daniel's future should have been clear as day. But…perhaps not.

There still was, unfortunately, the chance that Daniel could become Dan. And perhaps it was that chance that still existed that made Daniel's future skewy. Had that chance disappeared, so would have Dan. But he had not, as the muffled yelling and clanging behind him proved. So, perhaps he would have to set in motion a chance for Daniel to choose his path and cement the future.

A wary expression came across his face, but he simply sighed. He was going to get in a good amount of trouble for this, trouble which would involve a great amount of nagging and yelling. However, if the future was to go on the path it should then he would have to do this, observers be damned.

Clockwork floated over to the table that the Fenton thermos lay on. He picked it up, and as he did so the yelling and shaking stopped.

He floated over to the portal. A dry, emotionless smirk came to his face. "Good luck." He stated dryly, before opening the thermos.

* * *

**_Once again, sorry about the shortness. The next chapter will DEFINITELY be long. I swear upon my TARDIS shirt!_**

**_Hope you enjoyed this chapter though ^^_**


	4. Chapter 3

_**Well, not as much swearing as I thought there would be, but here you are!**_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Vlad gasped his eyes wide. He glanced about in confusion, only to be distracted by his own appearance. He stood in front of what seemed to be a mirror, but was clearly not. It was simply reflective. In the object was a reflection of himself. However, he looked…different. Not to say that he looked strange, but he looked like his normal self…mostly. His eyes glowed red and his skin, normally pale, held a slightly bluish tint, as if he was beginning to freeze. He attempted to place his hand on the surface, only for the object to completely disappear as he got quite close.

"Wha-?" He started, his eyes widening. This action caused him to look around to his surroundings. The place appeared extremely out of place, definitely not somewhere he would expect to be in space. The area appeared very much like a garden, wild from age and quite unkempt. Plants of all types covered the area and there was no place left untouched by the green life. Vines hung everywhere, making it difficult to see anything.

His curiosity getting the better of him, Vlad began to walk through the jungle like garden. He glanced around curiously. The entire place seemed odd. Now and again he'd see some type of animal, such as a birds flying about or a rabbit or something similar. However, he could see absolutely no signs of human life.

He paused, frowning as he saw a lone swing, appearing as if it was broken and decaying with age. However, the swing still rocked back and forth, as if being pushed by the wind or as if someone was playing on the swing. Putting up a finger, his brow furrowed. There was no absolutely no breeze.

"Definitely the work of a ghost." He muttered to himself, finding the place becoming odder and odder by the minute. Shaking off the bad feeling he was gaining, he continued walking.

* * *

Vlad glanced around, feeling more than confused, if not apprehensive. On moment he had been in the garden like place and the next he was in a place that looked like a destroyed town. Ruins of what looked like ancient European, perhaps ancient Greek, sculptures were scattered around the place. What made the scene odder was that the ruins were not placed in a manner that made up a town, but rather as if they had been mindlessly scattered about the area. Vlad glanced, down realizing that he had felt a wet feeling. His eyes met water. The ground around the area was covered in matter. His brow furrowed as he noticed that certain spots fire burned. However, the fire did not spread but simply stayed in one spot.

Curious, Vlad walked over to one of the small fires. He was about to stick his hand through it, curious as to if the fire was harmful or not, only to be stopped by a voice. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." , said a childish voice.

Vlad turned around, only to meet a small child. He was a boy and he had long jet black hair. His eyes were like that of cat's, curved and filled with intelligence that appeared out of place with his age. He looked no older than seven and was slender, certainly not someone who would grow to be a fighter. If anything, he looked like a scholar. His clothes matched the time period around them. He wore but a tunic, his feet completely bare. His startling blue eyes stared at Vlad in an unnerving way, the intelligence swirling within them as a calculating look entered his eyes.

"That would not be wise." The boy said again. "The fire doesn't like strangers." He claimed.

Vlad's brow knitted together and, before he could stop himself, he snapped. "Don't be ridiculous. It is fire." He shot back, his arrogant side coming to the surface.

The child's eyes narrowed and a sneer came to his face. "Don't be ridiculous." He scoffed. The boy's voice, much to Vlad's shock, changed into his very own. It seemed so out of place, as everything about this boy seemed to, what with an old man's voice coming from a young child. "Everything has life." The child said in the same know-it-all voice Vlad had used previously. "Of course," A mischievous, almost evil, smile came to the child's face. "if you don't believe me then feel free to try. Of course, you'll have to bet your life on it."

As Vlad's eyes widened, the child gave a chilling giggle, sending shivers right down his spine. The child twirled around and skipped off, disappearing before Vlad's eyes.

Vlad gulped, his bad feeling increasing. However, he smothered it, as he usually did, his curiosity and lust to know about what lay ahead greater than before. His mind whirled around many options, but the one at the forefront was the chance that there might be someone or something that could help him leave this wretched place.

Nodding to himself, he walked away from the flower and continued on the path he'd been going before.

* * *

Soon enough, Vlad found himself at a cliff. He had passed many different places, each one odder than the one previous. He glanced around his surroundings, dismayed to find that there was no type of bridge. He turned his attention to the giant gap. Hesitantly, he placed a foot forward, finding that it actually hit hard ground. Gaining some confidence about this, he stepped forward completely. In doing so, a bridge of brick quickly appeared, swerving through the air in odd directions.

Frowning he began walking, quickly coming to a place where the bridge did a loop. Testing his theory, he began walking normally, finding that he could walk upside down and not fall.

"Whatcha doin' mister?" He quickly turned around – personally he was surprised that he did not get whiplash with how fast he turned around- and his eyes met that of the child. It was the very same one that he had met in the place with the ruins except they looked…different. The child, this time, was a girl, but she looked a bit different from the other. Her hair was completely white, like fresh snow on the ground, untouched and perfect. Her eyes stood out more than the little boy's had, being an almost crystal blue. She wore a white dress that reached to her knees. She looked older than the other hand, probably being in her mid-teens. However, despite the differences, he could not shake the feeling that this was the same child from before.

'_But how? Was the other child actually a girl and I simply mistook her as a boy. Possible, but…_' He thought to himself.

"What are you doing here, child?" He asked hesitantly. A smirk came to the girl's face. "Same as you." She said. Her English slurred and it was rather clear that it was not her first language. "Just walkin' 'own a path." She said cheekily. He found that the cheek did not bother him as his attention was focused on the fact that she was sitting, not standing, and upside down at that, or rather right side up. Her head touched the pathway and, unsurprisingly, was floating.

"You are sitting." He pointed out dryly, pointing at her. She simply sniggered, seeming to find something amusing. "'is not sitting." She said with a smirk. Before he could speak up, she straightened herself and stood, still floating. "Guess I should say bye." She waved her hand. However, Vlad found himself confused as she did not move.

"Wha-?" However, he was cut off as the path disappeared underneath up. His eyes widened and all he heard next was loud, childish laughter.

Groaning, Vlad sat up, finding himself in a place that appeared to be much more normal than where he had been previously. It was simply a white room, large and appearing nearly infinite. However, he found himself completely confused. The last thing he remembered was falling. He wasn't dead…was he?

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

* * *

Dan immediately flew out of the thermos as it was opened. In doing so, he flew straight into the portal in front of him. Before he could say a thing, he found himself floating above Amity Park, specifically above his…old home, the one he had had as a child.

He frowned, finding himself rather confused for once in his life. Nobody could have opened that thermos but Clockwork, mainly because nobody except him and the observers came into that room and the observers would sooner die than let him out. Searching his memory, he remembered what Clockwork had said before. He scowled, only to have it turn into a smirk. Well, it was his loss.

With a malevolent smirk, he flew off, deciding to search for his younger self.

Danny and Sam were enjoying themselves as they sat in her movie area in her house. They were watching a horror film, one that Sam appeared to be enjoying a lot. It was a bit obvious that Danny was freaked out. However, he simply hid it with a brave front.

When the movie was about half way done, his ghost sense went off, something that Sam also noticed. He sent her an apologetic look before transforming and zooming off with a goodbye and a silent sorry. Little did he know that his entire world was about to change upon meeting the ghost at hand.

* * *

Vlad blinked stupidly as his eyes met the sourced of the voice. He was blatantly starring at a woman. She was tall, almost inhumanely so. She was slender, her body almost cat like. Bright, blood-like eyes stared at him coldly. Her lips were pulled into a thin line. She was pale and her hair was immensely long and a pure white. She was dressed in a complex dress that was as black as the midnight sky. In her hands she held a staff, which at the top had an hourglass, one that was, strangely enough, broken, lacking any sand within it. Her feet were bare and she seemed to almost float.

It did not take Vlad very long to realize that this person was the very same one that he had encountered previously.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded. He gulped and tried to answer, only to find himself incapable. She rolled her eyes, seeming to realize his predicament.

"Curiosity, I take it?" She queried, barely paying attention when he nodded. "Well, human-" She paused, a positively evil smile coming to her face as she did so, "Ah, forgive me, Halfling." She corrected herself. "You have entered a prison, one that is, as you might have guessed, meant to keep me in and others out." Her eyes turned to him, a smirk lying in them.

"Not very surprising that you have entered though. This prison only keeps out humans and ghosts, and seeing as you are both, ambient your humanity is nearly gone, you were able to get in."

The woman disappeared, only to appear right in front of him. "I've got a proposition for you, Halfling. If you want it that is…."


End file.
